


Mom's Heere?

by pastelsuperhero



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz, Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, I have taken the dive off the deep end, Jared's an asshole but he's sincerely trying, Multi, well he starts trying soon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 18:16:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11742492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastelsuperhero/pseuds/pastelsuperhero
Summary: Stepbrothers au + Dad's Heere au = this chaotic fanfic.Basically the stepbrothers AU after Mr Heere has adopted all of Jeremy's friends.





	1. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You might want to read "Dad's Heere" before reading this, as some things might not make sense. But, you don't have to if you don't want to!
> 
> So, I know my "Dad's Heere" fic is more canon divergence than au, but it just helped the description better to call it an au. For you guys who have read Dad's Heere, or have read it and Dad's Still Heere, or have read both and were waiting on me to update that and start this: The parts in the stories where people have talked about DEH, forget that. We're going to pretend like those never happened. In this universe, DEH isn't a musical, the characters are as real as the BMC kids are, and no one has met each other yet. Everyone but Evan & his mom lived in Middle Borough, and Evan and Heidi have just moved into town. The time is, like, school is just about to start back for senior year. I hope you guys enjoy this short first chapter!

Since Brooke’s car was now forever out of session, one of the family would have to volunteer to take Brooke to and from her job at the town Pinkberry. No one minded, of course, and Brooke loved doing it, so it continued – every Tuesday and Thursday, Brooke was working.

 

Mr. Heere, to his own genuine surprise, hadn’t been asked to drop her off or pick her up once yet. He knew it was because the family had three different cars between them, and that Chloe loved to be the one to see her girlfriend off to work and at the end of the day, but he still had thought that he would have had to do it at least _once_ by now.

 

Well, he wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

 

He was at the tail end of his work day, just starting to pack everything up when his phone vibrated in his pocket.

 

 **Brookelynn** : Hey Dad! Could you pick me up from work on your way home today? Everyone else is busy.

 

He smiled down at his phone as he tapped out a short ‘Of course I can.’ He knew for a fact that she had sent ‘Dad’ on purpose, and he could practically hear her say it with an exaggerated sweetness whenever she really wanted or needed something from him. Truly, a daughter type move.

 

He clicked the phone off and returned it to his pocket, getting the rest of his things together. The quicker he and Brooke could get home, the quicker they and everyone else could enjoy a nice, hot, Dad-made dinner. With the thought of it making his stomach growl, Mr. Heere stood, grabbed his belongings, and returned the few waves goodbye some of his coworkers sent as he walked out the doors.

 

\---

 

“Yeah, but we’re all trying really hard to convince him to let us get one. I mean, it would be, like, a therapy dog for Rich – oh! And we’ve all, like, shown him we could agree on it by deciding together that it would be a dog, and we could get it from the shelter I volunteer at sometimes, and there’s no way it won’t get enough food, or water, or walks, or love, or-”

 

“Brooke!” Mr. Heere called for her attention, laughing as he approached the counter she and her coworker were standing behind.

 

“Dad!” Brooke called back, spinning around and smiling up at him. “I was just talking about that dog you should _totally let us get_.” She told him smoothly, and he squinted his eyes at her attempt of using public discussion as peer pressure.

 

“I told you, I’d think about it.” He laughed.

 

“I don’t know. She has some good points, there. I don’t think I’d be able to say no to her after a while.” The coworker – an older blonde woman with a kind smile – told him. Mr. Heere began to recognize her as the woman who gave Chloe and Brooke the free frozen yogurt and the job offer that night a couple months ago. He offered her a chuckle.

 

“Try it with seven more of them.” He laughed, throwing a look to Brooke as she just smirked.

 

“So she tells me,” The woman laughed with him, “She also tells me you adopted them all?”

 

Mr. Heere found himself blushing, and he couldn’t figure out why. “Well, Jeremy is my biological son, but yes, I somehow adopted all of his friends.”

 

“That’s… so sweet.” The woman smiled, and Mr. Heere’s blush deepened. “What does your wife think of that many teenagers running around the house? I can barely manage my one boy.” She chuckled, leaning to rest on her crossed arms on the counter.

 

“Oh, uh… my ex-wife and I are divorced.” Mr. Heere got out, awkwardly starting to rub at the back of his neck.

 

“Me too! Or, well, my ex- _husband_ , I should say. But it appears we’re on the same boat, Captain.” She chuckled, and if Mr. Heere didn’t know any better, he’d say that a blush was starting to show on her face as well. “It’s been tough raising my son alone, but we’ve made it through. We just recently moved here at the beginning of the summer. I used to work around the clock at the hospital where we used to live, but the transfer here has given me less hours, so I took a job here as well. I’m also going back to school part-time. It’s a busy life, but I manage.” She shrugged her shoulders as she chuckled, as if she hadn’t just admitted to him that she was a severely overworked single mother.

 

In his haze of trying to find something to say to that, Brooke leaned over the counter to nudge him. “Isn’t she so cool and determined? I hope I can be as hardworking as you are.” Brooke turned to face her as she finished the sentence, and the woman just laughed more and reached out to pat her shoulder.

 

“Hopefully, Brooke, you won’t have to be by the time you get to be my age.” She let her hand drop and suddenly she was shooing Brooke from behind the counter. “I’ve been keeping you two long enough – I’m sure you have to hurry back to your big ol’ family back home.” She and Brooke shared a giggle. “Go on, go home and have a good night.”

 

Brooke walked around to Mr. Heere’s side as he tried to find a non-awkward way to put his next statement. “You haven’t been keeping us too long at all. It was very nice to talk with you.”

 

“Very nice to talk with you, too.” The woman smiled at him.

 

Brooke waved goodbye as the two of them turned and started to walk out, pausing when Mr. Heere did in the partly-open door, beaming with delight while she watched her adoptive dad turn back around to her friendly coworker.

 

“I didn’t catch your name.” Mr. Heere asked.

 

“I’m Heidi. Heidi Hansen.” She answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Heere definitely has all his kids' full names as their contacts in his phone - Brookelynn, Jeremiah, Richard, etc.
> 
> OH BOY DO I HAVE PLANS FOR THIS - JUST GOTTA KEEP GOING TO GET THERE.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoyed this!!


	2. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jared says some kind-of asshole-y things!

Sometimes, Evan felt like a sim.

 

The new house wasn’t big by any means, but the amount of unfamiliarity to it made it feel huge. So, when Evan was alone in this huge and unfamiliar house, he’d find himself aimlessly walking around in it. It was as if some greater force was directing him around, making him stand in the kitchen for half an hour just to try and memorize what it looked like. He sort-of… _hated_ it. Moving here meant moving out of his childhood home, and away from his hometown, and away from the State Park…

 

No, don’t think about the State Park.

 

And away from the very few things that brought him comfort in life. He had a lot – a _lot_ of bad days, but his bedroom was always waiting for him when he got home. It was a small comfort, but a comfort nonetheless – and now it was gone. Plus, waking up and being left completely alone most of the time in this weird house he’s not used to yet was starting to pull at some hazy feelings in his gut. He was afraid that if he stayed completely alone here any longer, in this house that wasn’t making any sense, the fabric of reality was going to tear, and he’d be lost in his thoughts forever.

 

So, he’d invited Jared over.

 

Jared Kleinman – his one and only (family) friend, whose Mom has been friends with Evan’s Mom for forever, whose house he would go visit and stay at during the summer, and who would skype with him constantly – as instructed by said Mom. Jared Kleinman, who almost seemed excited when he was told over one of their very skype calls that Evan would be moving much closer to him, and then quickly let him know that “I can totally squeeze more out of you if I can say we’re hanging out in _person_ , Evan!” Jared Kleinman, who…

 

Who was sitting in his living room, playing some video game he brought over from his house, and yelling something at him.

 

“Yo, Evan! Did you lose your hearing when you fell from that tree, too?”

 

Evan cringed, thankful that Jared couldn’t see him from his spot on the couch.  He heard Jared’s game pause as he resumed getting himself a drink from the fridge.

 

“N-No, I didn’t.” He responded quietly.

 

“While you’re still in there, get me one of those too, would ‘ya buddy?” Jared called, making Evan roll his eyes before doing what he was asked. He handed Jared his coke as he passed by, and plopped back onto the opposite end of the couch, bringing up his legs to hug them.

 

“Thanks, pal.” Jared told him, and he was sure he meant it sarcastically. Jared leaned back into his comfortable position and unpaused the game, resuming his play. “Why are you curling up like that? Are you stressed out or something? I’m not gonna bite you, you know.” Evan felt a flicker of hope start in his chest, only for Jared to snuff it out again with a snicker. “Of course, it’s tempting.”

 

Evan lightly threw a throw pillow at him, which only made him chuckle more. “Kn- knock it o- off, Jared.” He chided. The two lapsed into more silence.

 

“Well?” Jared asked.

 

“W-Well, what?” Evan asked back.

 

“Well, what’re you so stressed about? Can’t let my mom know I let you get all anxious and worked up, right?” Jared laughed, and Evan started to wish he hadn’t even invited him over in the first place.

 

Evan moved his body around, gently untangling himself from the stress ball he was becoming, and instead sitting cross-legged and holding his arms around a pillow. Once he was settled, he scoffed, and kept his eyes on Jared’s character on-screen. “Like you re-really c-care, Jared.”

 

If Jared frowned at that, Evan didn’t see.

 

“You’re right,” Jared all but bit out, “I don’t. But like I said, I literally can’t leave you all anxious and stressed out, or my mom-”

 

“Your mom won’t pay your car insurance, yeah.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

More silence.

 

“Evan, seriously, what-”

 

Before Jared could finish, the front door was opening, and Evan’s Mom was stepping through.

 

“Hi, sweetie! Did you have a good night? Order something to eat?” Her voice carried through the house, the warmth in it matching the smile she wore when she finally came face-to-face with them in the living room. “Oh, Jared! Hi, sweetheart, I didn’t know you were here.”

 

“Hi, Ms. Hansen. I ordered a pizza, he’s eaten.” Jared told her, smiling. Evan knew he was just trying to be smug, and the feeling irked him.

 

“Don’t, don’t talk ab-about me like I’m n-not standing right here.” He pouted. “Or- or like I’m in-incapable of handling myself. I- I’m _not_ a child.”

 

Heidi only rolled with the punches, walking over to him and brushing some of his hair down on his head before leaning down to kiss it, aptly ignoring Evan’s embarrassed attempts to shoo her away. “Oh, sweetie, I know! Just like to be sure.” She let out a laugh at Evan’s protests, and moved her hand to where it sat on his shoulder. “You boys will never guess what happened tonight.” She told them both.

 

“What happened, Ms. Hansen?” Jared questioned, and Evan almost threw another pillow at him for the faux sweetness in his voice.

 

“Sweetheart, you can call me Heidi. I’ve told you that your whole life.” She chuckled, hoping this time he would actually listen to her.

 

Instead, he just looked back to the tv screen and muttered, “My dad says I can’t do that.” Before the silence could get awkward, he added, “Gotta have those manners, right? Unlike many of today’s youths, _I_ am a gentleman.” He gave a small bow from his seat, and when Evan scoffed, he met their faces with mock outrage.

 

“A-Anyway, Mom, what happened?” Evan brought them back.

 

“Oh, right! The nice man at work!” Heidi gasped, and moved to explain, only for Evan to interrupt her.

 

“Th… The nice m-man at work?” He questioned.

 

“Yes! That young girl we hired, Brookelynn, has been telling me all about her father. So, when he came in tonight, we started talking, and he was just _everything_ that girl told me he was!” Heidi moved a hand to cover her mouth as she giggled.

 

Evan felt sick.

 

“Mom, yo-you can’t just fl-flirt with your coworkers’ _dads_.” He tried to let her know. “How old is he, anyway? It’s not l-like, cr-creepy is it?”

 

“He’s around the same age as me, sweetie.” She told him.

 

“Around?” Evan asked her.

 

“Brooke is you boys’ age, so are her siblings, so yes, I would assume we’re around the same age.” She explained herself.

 

“As-assume?” Evan asked again, his voice slightly raising in anxiety he didn’t understand.

 

“Wait, how many siblings does she have? How can they be the same age?” Jared pondered, looking to the both of them with his eyebrows scrunched up. “Oh, are they, like those quadruplets? Because if they are, you need to hook me up, I can _totally_ -”

 

“Jared!” Evan squeaked.

 

“No, Jared, she and her siblings were adopted.” Heidi explained, letting herself laugh at his antics.

 

Jared went quiet, and Evan could tell he was thinking by the face he pulled. “Are you, by any chance, talking about Brooke _Lohst_?” Jared asked her.

 

“So, you know her?” Heidi beamed at him, only letting it slip a small bit when he scoffed at her.

 

“Everyone knows that family!” Jared practically started yelling. “They all did some kind of drugs at a school play, and then were all taken in by Heere’s pops! If it wasn’t for Jenna, I’m sure there’d be rumors everywhere around the school!”

 

“Now, I’m sure they didn’t-” Heidi tried to calm him.

 

“Personally, I think they’re all some kind of hivemind! I’d watch out if I were you, Ms. Hansen, they could suck you in! It’d be like Rich all over again!” Jared interrupted her again.

 

“R-Rich?” Evan spoke up to ask.

 

“Yeah! Rich was – _is_ this kid in our grade, one of the _hivemind_ ,” he let his voice do a spooky waver, “I knew him in middle school! Talked to him a couple of times, but he was a lot like you, buddy, he wasn’t really the social butterfly – that is, until, BAM!” Jared clapped his hands together and let his fingers imitate fireworks falling to the ground. “Halfway through freshman year, he flipped his whole life around, and _he_ became one of the _bullies_! Now he and Jake Dillinger are all butt-buddied!”

 

“Jared, t-that’s-” Evan tried, but Jared was apparently on a roll.

 

“Of course, he, and those other kids that got high on whatever shit they had at that school play, are all ‘team players’ now. They’re all trying to not be such bullies and shit. They’ve even roped in Christine Canigula, and she’s-”

 

“J-Jared, you do realize we have n-no idea who any of these people are, right?” Evan asked him, letting the small, smug smile tug onto his face.

 

“Oh, believe me, after first day, you will know _all_ about them!” Jared leaned over to nudge his elbow into Evan’s side.

 

“You know, since Brooke and her siblings are all your age, I’m sure they’d love to be your friends, sweetie!” Heidi took the opportunity to make sure she could get another word in before Jared started ranting again. “I’m sure they’d be just fine with helping show you around campus. And! You could ask them to sign your cast!” Her hand moved to Evan’s back, and she subconsciously started rubbing small circles to soothe the anxiety that showed on his face.

 

“Mom, _no_.” Evan tried to tell her.

 

“ _Yes_!” Jared intervened, his hands bunching together in barely-stifled excitement. “You can see their weirdness firsthand!” He explained to Evan.

 

“I’ll talk to her again Tuesday. Jared, you be nice to them.” Heidi chided, standing up to head off to bed. “Well, goodnight, boys. Are you staying the night, Jared?” When Jared nodded, she offered him a smile. “Alright, I’ll try and make some breakfast in the morning. Goodnight!” She waved her hand as she walked away, and the boys yelled back to her.

 

Evan and Jared turned back to the video game, letting the time slip by and drain them of energy. Right before they turned it all off and called it bed-time, Jared snickered.

 

“You think your mom’s gonna get some from the Hivemind Leader?”

 

Evan just threw another pillow at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone's wondering what's up with Jared, or wondering if I've written him straight... I haven't.
> 
> He's just got a big announcement coming up later.
> 
> Anyway, if you guys liked this chapter, please let me know. I just... I get really excited, and write stuff out, but always end up hating it. I don't like how this turned out, but I really want to get to certain parts I have planned later in the story, so I swallowed up my doubt and posted it anyway! Thank y'all for always being so nice & kind & supportive!!!


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUESS WHO'S AT THE END OF HER FALL SEMESTER AND READY TO WRITE AGAIN? THIS GAL!

“Dad’s got a girlfriend!” Brooke sing-songed, ignoring everyone’s jumps after she’d loudly burst through the front door to tell them the news.

 

Mr. Heere followed behind, running a hand over his head and closing the door behind them. When he turned to meet the incredulous faces of all his kids (of _course_ they’d all be down here at the same time, right now, of _course_ ) at the news, he shooed his hands at them with a hearty chuckle and a reassurance. “I do _not_ have a girlfriend.”

 

“Not yet!” Brooke announced, running over to plop beside her girlfriend on the couch. All the teens turned to face her as if she was going to tell them a children’s tale, and Brooke almost seemed like it too, judging by her exaggerated movements. Mr. Heere would have laughed again if he was not currently growing more and more embarrassed at Brooke’s words.

 

“He met Heidi!” Brooke clapped, jumping a small bit in her seat.

 

“Is Heidi the blonde one, or that mean one that made you re-do all your work last Tuesday?” Jake asked, completely ignoring Mr. Heere’s small protests.

 

“Nah, Heidi’s the blonde one, remember? She gave them the free fro-yo?” Michael supplied, laughing at Rich when he quietly added “Now I want fro-yo.”

 

Brooke steamrolled on, excited to retell the nights events. “Yeah! She’s like, the nicest woman you’d ever meet, and she’s really hardworking, and smart, and she has this _really_ pretty smile, and -”

 

“I only talked to her for, say, five minutes, at the _most_.” Mr. Heere tried to calm them. “I don’t think I could judge someone based off of that little interaction – no matter how pretty she was.” He glanced around at each of them, meeting their eyes with a fatherly there’s-a-lesson-here look, before walking off to start dinner in the kitchen.

 

He felt like he’d proudly diffused the situation, when he heard Brooke gasp behind him. “You said she was pretty!”

 

The air around him _whooshed_ , and before he’d even set foot onto his kitchen tile, his kids were sitting there at the large kitchen island waiting for him.

 

“ _You_ said she was pretty, Brookelynn.” Mr. Heere chided, sneakily taking extra time getting out all the needed ingredients and cookingware so he wouldn’t have to look at any of them.

 

“Ooh, a full name card. This is serious.” He heard Jenna mutter to the others.

 

Brooke just shook it off. “No, I said she had a pretty _smile_ , Dad. _You_ just said she was _pretty_.” She was grinning ear to ear like she’d cracked a code, or learned a secret. She looked to her siblings and her girlfriend for backup, ecstatic when they all nodded to her point.

 

Mr. Heere lazily started chopping some vegetables – you _have_ to keep your eyes trained on that task, right? Shouldn’t be looking anywhere but these carrots and this knife, wouldn’t want to hurt yourself. “Same difference, hon.” He shrugged.

 

He saw Chloe shrug in his peripheral vision, sighing to himself when she commented “Not really.”

 

“Not at all!” Rich nearly shouted, he and Brooke nudging each other in their shared enthusiasm.

 

“Dad, you at _least_ admitted to her being pretty.” Jeremy laughed lightly.

 

Mr. Heere mentally cursed his children.

 

“Okay, so she’s pretty. So what?” He turned his back to them to add the newly-chopped veggies to his stew. “Not everything’s based on looks, kids. What if she’s… a secret vampire, or something?”

 

“That would be _awesome_.” Michael whispered, and Mr. Heere found himself sighing again.

 

“What I’m trying to say is, I hardly know her. She could be the most beautiful woman that graced the earth, and I would still have to get to know her first, right?” He pointed a mixing spoon at them, knowing what he said rang true.

 

“So get to know her!” Chloe demanded.

 

Mr. Heere froze mid-stir. “…What?”

 

“Just get to know her more! Ask her on a date or something! Then she can get to know you too, Mr. _Debonair_.” Chloe moved he shoulders around, and they all couldn’t stop themselves from bursting into laughter at both her antics and Mr. Heere’s resulting blush.

 

“I don’t know about that -” He tried.

 

“Oh, please Dad! Please at _least_ give her a try? We’ll help you!” Christine was nearly jumping just thinking about it, and he couldn’t make himself say a definite ‘no’ to that face.

 

“I haven’t dated anyone in a long time, you kids know that? I’d be a bit rusty.” He tried again.

 

“You should go for it, Dad. She’d be lucky.” Jeremy told him, smiling and genuine, and he found himself being warmed from the love pouring out of his heart.

 

“Alright,” he shrugged, his smile growing as they cheered, “But you’ll all have to help me be ready for anything, _including_ surprise vampiric tendencies.” He laughed.

 

“That’s _easy_!” Michael cried, and Mr. Heere only felt more love flow for the strange family unit he’d found himself.

 

At once, all the kids began talking, somehow able to understand one another while to Mr. Heere, they were all talking _over_ each other. When he heard Christine and Jenna start planning a music number for him to do, he quickly diffused the conversation.

 

“Alright, alright, I agreed already, let’s not take it too far. Let’s eat, and _then_ we’ll talk about the _possible_ date.” He motioned for Jake to start helping him put food to plate, when Brooke spoke up again.

 

“Ask her tomorrow!” She yelled.

 

“ _We’ll see_. For now, take this and let’s _eat_.” He handed her a plate, chuckling at the brightness in her smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys who read my works, truly. College has kept me busy and a lot of times stressed BUT I still constantly get emails of comments and kudos that people are still leaving on my works, and it means the entire world to me & never fails to brighten up my day!


	4. 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Hope you enjoy! I'm going to try and update one every two weeks, and hopefully in the future go to once a week. To everyone that keeps sending me love and support through your wonderful comments, thank you dearly. You are the reason this is not being given up on.
> 
> Keep strong, everyone.

Evan did his absolute best to only groan on the _inside_.

 

He sat, sad and alone, at a table meant for five, watching his mom run around like an animated cartoon and trying to pretend like he didn’t notice the worried glances she constantly threw at him. It was enough that she’d dragged him here today, he wasn’t going to make it worse by ruining an already hectic day.

 

\---

 

 _“Evan, sweetie, why don’t you come with me to work today?”_ She’d ~~asked~~ told him during breakfast that morning. _“You can bring whatever you’d like, like a book, or your laptop, and you can just ‘hang out’ while I’m on my shift! It’ll be fun, and you’ll get free fro-yo!”_ She wiggled her eyebrows at him, giving him a playful poke across the small table before returning to her own breakfast.

 

Evan stuttered over his spoonful of cheerios while Jared giggled. _“Mom, I don’t think-”_ but of course, she interrupted him. Like always. Like everyone does.

_“I just think, you know, you seem to have memorized the house pretty… well, already, right? Haven’t really… been outside, in a while? Gotten some fresh air?”_

 

 Evan had quickly scooped another spoonful, letting his chewing give him time to think it over. He really hadn’t been outside in a few days, now that he thought about it. But that didn’t mean he wanted to go to work with his mother, like he was a baby that the sitter cancelled on. _“I… I hear you, M-Mom. J-Jared and I will… go… do s-something.”_

 

But then, just like him to do so, Jared all but cackled and shoved his drooping glasses back up to his droopy morning eyes. _“Sorry, Ev, but I am busy today!”_ He’d drawled out the syllables, laughing at Evan through eye contact and a pat on the shoulder, which only made Evan cough on his cheerios.

_“So, you will be joining me!”_ Heidi cheered, already rushing to put her bowl in the sink and run to get dressed for the day, leaving Evan behind her to mutter out a non-committed _“S-Sure…”_

 

Jared released his shoulder-hold and openly laughed at Evan’s dismay. _“Have fun at work with mommy!”_

 

\---

 

He kept his nose in the book he’d brought, really tried to focus on it, but it just wasn’t working out for him. His phone buzzed with taunting texts from Jared every few minutes, and if Evan didn’t already know it for a fact, he’d start to think Jared just keeps him around for shits and giggles.

 

He took another bite of his mint-chocolate-chip and looked to start re-reading the same paragraph for the third time, when he saw his mom stop in his peripheral vision. When he gave her his full attention, he started to worry. She was frozen in the middle of the small restaurant, only her eyes moving as she watched… something outside? Evan followed her gaze but was only met with different cars parked outside the glass.

 

In what felt like slow motion, everything clicked into place. A real, wide, _glowing_ smile graced his mother’s face, a tall nearly-bald man came through the door, making the door give a _cling!_ that sounded warped and far-off. He was dressed far too nicely for a frozen yogurt shop, and he was carrying a bouqet of… his mom’s favorite?

 

“Now, Mr. Heere, how did you know lilies are my favorite flower?” She asked him.

 

_This guy was Mr. Heere._

 

“A little city-bird told me.” He winked at her, winked at his mother, and they shared a giggle.

 

Evan felt like he was going to be sick.

 

“Only two days after we first meet, and you’re already bringing me flowers?” She prodded, lifting them to her nose to take a small smell. She closed her eyes and smiled, blushing when she found Mr. Heere watching her do so.

 

“Well, uh… I figured, Brookelynn’s talked me up so much, it’s practically like you’ve known me for a while.” He chuckled, raising an arm to rub the back of his neck.

 

Ooh, Evan was _not_ sure about this guy.

 

“Is that so?” Heidi asked him.

 

“Indeed, Ms. Hansen.” Mr. Heere chuckled again.

 

“Please, you’ve brought me flowers, you can call me by my name.” She insisted, even giving him a playful shove with her hand, which turned into more of a poke since it did nothing to the bigger man, but neither of them were going to notice it.

 

“Well, _Heidi_ , I uh… I came here to do more than just… give you flowers.”

 

Did grown men blush like they were in high school? Was Evan going to blush like that when he was Mr. Heere’s age?

 

“Well, _David_ , what did you come here to do?”

 

Had he ever seen her with eyes like that? Like… stars? Like… _happy_?

 

“I would like to ask you… on a date. To dinner. Tonight.”

 

The whole place went quiet, and Evan watched, an unidentified feeling knotting in his gut as his mother pretended to ponder the idea.

 

“Say yes!” A girl shouted from her seat, and everyone giggled like it was some sort of rom-com or something. Evan still… _didn’t_ feel like a romantic-comedy… at all.

 

“Yes. I would love to.” Heidi giggled again, grabbing his hand and leading him to the register, where they both continued their conversation in a more private manner. Everyone went back to eating their yogurt… except Evan.

 

Evan stared into his bowl and watched the pieces that had caught on the higher end of his spoon melting and start dripping back into the bowl. His mind raced with thoughts, his gut tangled up with feelings he couldn’t place and didn’t like. His mom had looked so… happy when he walked in. He didn’t think he’d ever seen that look on her face before – at least, if he had, it hadn’t been in _years_.

 

A negative spiral started twisting away in his brain, and he saw it coming, felt the panicky prickles on his arms of knowing he couldn’t stop it. A whirlpool of sad and angry thoughts raged in his head and ran into his chest, ranging from ‘ _Why can’t I make Mom that happy?_ ’ to ‘ _I know she doesn’t really want me around_ ’ to ‘ _Should have climbed back up and jumped aga-’_

 

He grabbed as big a spoonful of fro-yo as he could.

 

His cast itched.

 

Luckily, his mom offered distraction as she and ‘ _David_ ’ pulled up two chairs to sit with him. He smiled to his mom as she sat in the offered chair and didn’t dare to look in the other chair’s direction.

 

“Evan, sweetie, are you okay? You look like you’re about to cry.” Ms. Hansen asked him, reaching out to take his non-casted hand in her own, and Evan shoved down the thoughts of wanting her to give him a full hug and instead forced a laugh and wiped at his eyes.

 

“Yeah, I-I’m f-fine, Mom. Choked on s-some, uh… fro-yo, that’s a-all.” He lied.

 

He hated how it got easier the more you did it, lying.

 

“That’s good, son, got worried for ya for a minute.” The man chuckled heartily, keeping his own hands to himself.

 

_Don’t call me ‘son’._

 

“Evan, this is Mr. Heere, the man I told you and Jared about?” She gestured with her hands and her eyes, as if she couldn’t subconsciously pick one to go with and ended up using both. Even gave him an over-exaggerated wink at the end.

 

“Oh, she was… talking about me?” David asked, seeming genuine. Evan had nothing to hold against him, so far.

 

“N-Not really.” He added quietly.

 

“Evan and your kids are the same age!” Heidi randomly supplied, gesturing with open hands towards Evan like it was some huge secret that’d been kept and locked up until now.

 

“Really? You starting senior year too, Ev?” David asked him, the smile on his face disarming.

 

_Only Jared calls me ‘Ev’._

“Y-Yes, sir.” Evan mumbled, bringing up his casted arm across his chest to pick at the sleeve hemming with his free fingers.

 

“Oh, what happened to your arm?” The question was an innocent one, Evan knew that. Didn’t stop the whirlpool of emotions from flooding his mind again, though.

 

“Fell from a tree.” Evan mumbled, almost not sure if Mr. Heere had even heard that.

 

“Children and getting themselves hurt…” Mr. Heere mumbled himself, looking into some sort of middle ground with a worried look on his face, as if he was remembering something, before he gave a quick cough and looked at Evan again. “Maybe you and my kids should get together? They’d love to show you around the school or the town, especially Christine.”

 

“Is she the one that _really_ loves acting?” Heidi asked him, a casual hand on his arm, distracting his gaze away from Evan’s cast.

 

“Oh, yeah, maybe a little, uh, too much.” They were both laughing.

 

“T-That’s okay, I-I uh…” Evan tried to start, wanting to politely decline the offer of having his mom’s new guy-friend’s kids be forced to show him around. That would get him hated instantly. He needed _some_ kind of chance here, guys, come on.

 

“He’d love it.” Heidi answered for him, steamrolling over him like he hadn’t even been there in the first place.

 

Maybe he just shouldn’t have been.

 

“Great! School’s starting on Monday?” A quick nod from Ms. Hansen. “I’ll get your address, pick you up tonight, then give it to Michael and the kids and they can pick you up on the way to school!” Mr. Heere’s smile made it seem like he’d cracked a code, or found a treasure. “How’s that sound, Ev?”

 

Evan took his sweet time responding, letting the silence drag on as he thought.

 

“I… I guess I-I’ll just… text J-Jared and let h-him kn-know.” He eventually got out.

 

Mr. Heere and his mom both stood, Mr. Heere starting to walk back to the front door, and Heidi running around to give Evan a quick kiss on the head and a “Thank you, sweetie!” before following David outside to say their goodbyes.

 

“W-Whatever you say…” He muttered to the empty spaces they left.


	5. 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all. An explanation:  
> I was planning to write the rest of the chapters and upload them on my birthday (May 19, for context) with the words "it's my birthday, here's a present.". But, as you can see, I did not do that. Because in short, I suck.
> 
> So since I now have free time all to myself, I am literally doing nothing until I finish this series. Mostly because you guys and your kind words you still leave on this make me cry real tears constantly, and also a bit because I want to start new things that feel wrong to start on without finishing this. I also hate my own work, so I feel sort of... eh, about these chapters as I'm writing them. I hope you all can still enjoy them, however late they are now. Thank you for all of y'all's patience. I hope it's good.

“Autobots!”

 

Everyone giggled and moved to stand in a line in front of Rich, who was puffing out his chest with a pretend-stern look on his face that was _this close_ to breaking out into a grin.

 

“Transform, a–”

 

“We’re already dressed, Richie. We’ve already ‘transformed’.” Jake interrupted, smiling down to his boyfriend from the middle of the line.

 

“I trans-formed a long time ago.” Michael piped up.

 

“Ayy!” Christine and Jeremy both cheered on either side of him, offering up a triple-high-five.

 

“Okay, so… roll out!” Rich finished. Everyone broke into a fit of laughter and looked to Mr. Heere, who was looking sincerely dashing in his formal date outfit.

 

“Alrighty, Dad, are you sure she won’t mind if we hang out with Evan while you guys are gone?” Brooke asked, walking the short distance over to pull a little piece of lint off the rarely-worn shirt.

 

“Sure! I don’t see why not.” He chuckled and started lightly corralling them all out the door. “Come on, kiddos, we don’t have all night! I’m supposed to be there by six! Let’s roll out!”

 

“I call riding with Dad!” Jenna shouted, already bolting for his car, thus starting a race between them all.

 

Mr. Heere could only chuckle at the display and hope the happiness his kids gave him followed through the night.

 

\---

 

After a few quick words with Ms. Hansen, the adults were off and the kids were left alone.

 

“What do you think Evan’s like?” Christine asked the group quietly, as if Evan could hear her.

 

“He’s really sweet, from what Heidi’s told me.” Brooke offered, continuing with “But he is very anxious, so we should just be… cool.” She shuddered at the thought of what almost came out, immediately feeling stupid for how a word like ‘chill’ could make her feel.

 

“Well, we understand, so hopefully that makes him feel better.” Michael said, nodding to himself as if to affirm it.

 

“Then let’s go!” Chloe announced, laughing and leading the group to ring the doorbell.

 

No one answered.

 

“Is he home?” Jeremy asked.

 

“Ms. Hansen said he was…” Brooke answered, quirking her lips to the side.

 

Chloe hit the doorbell again.

 

Thankfully, this time, it opened. A boy their age, in a blue t-shirt and sweatpants, tensed up and peeked at them through the crack in the door.

 

“Uh… H-Hello?” He mumbled.

 

“Hey, Evan! We’re Mr. Heere’s kids! We wondered if we could meet you and hang out while our parents are out doing their thing!” Christine was almost bouncing, and Jake had to throw a hand on her shoulder to make her still as to not frighten Evan. “If that’s okay with you, of course.” She added.

 

Evan was silent for a minute, and they all gave him the time he needed.

 

“Oh… Uh, I-I m-mean the h-house isn’t re-really clean or a-anything… t-this is such sho-short notice… b-but sure! I-I don’t m-mind!” He got out, but didn’t move the door an inch.

 

Jeremy eyed him as casually as he could manage. “Are you sure, Evan? This is sudden, there’s a lot of us, we understand if you’re not up to it tonight. We can wait until Monday, if you want.”

 

“No! No, tha-that’d be… rude.” Evan supplied, not meeting their eyes and finally moving to open the door fully. “Uh, d-did you a-all r-ride in that one c-car?” He (unsuccessfully) tried to change the subject, pointing to Michael’s PT Cruiser and simultaneously gesturing for them to come inside.

 

“No, some of us rode with our Dad.” Brooke told him.

 

“Yeah, those of us who’re winners!” Rich shouted, sticking his tongue out to Christine.

 

“We are all winners, Rich!” Christine playfully shouted back.

 

“Guys, guys, we need to introduce ourselves!” Brooke corralled them. “I’m Brooke, and this is my girlfriend Chloe, and this is Jake and his boyfriend Rich, Jeremy and his boyfriend Michael, Christine, and Jenna!” She pointed each one out, everyone copying Chloe’s initial bow upon being named.

 

“You’re… y-you’re da-dating each… o-other?” Evan asked timidly.

 

“Oh! Shit, sorry, uh, we’re adopted!” Brooke supplied, quickly followed by “I mean, that doesn’t – okay, Jeremy is Mr. Heere’s biological son, and we’re all Jeremy’s friends, who in a weird twist of fate, have all been taken in by Dad over the last… how many months has it been? It feels like it’s always been this way.” She looked to the rest of them for help.

 

“Anyway, we were dating before we were adopted. It’s a loooong story.” Rich chuckled.

 

Evan only stared at him for a long moment, before appearing to quickly realize something and tear his eyes away from any of them, as if he’d done something incredibly wrong.

 

“Oh, uh…” Rich started. “Don’t feel bad about looking at my burn scars, if that’s what was happening.” He paused as Evan blushed and went to rub his neck. “I mean, they are pretty noticeable, right?” He moved closer to Evan while still being sure not to be too close, nudging the air between them with his elbow and offering him a silly wink when Evan finally met his eyes again.

 

“S-S-S…” Evan paused, sighing in frustration with himself. “S-Sorry. I-I-I… I didn’t m-m-mean to.”

 

Not being able to stand the now semi-awkward silence, Michael spoke up. “So! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving!” As if on cue, his stomach growled and made Jeremy laugh from beside him.

 

“W-Well, uh… M-M-Mom left m-money for p-pizza,” Evan told them, “b-b-but I…”

 

Jake, spotting the money and the phone left purposefully on the edge of a nearby table, grabbed them and affirmed “I’ll order it!”

 

If they saw Evan sigh in relief, they didn’t say anything.

 

Jake stayed put on the phone while Evan guided the others to the living room, and then to where they kept their movies. Brooke and Michael were arguing over which to watch, occasionally asking for Evan’s input, when Jake walked back in to whisper something Evan’s way.

 

“Hey, is cheese and pepperoni good with you, bud?”

 

Evan, not being able to get any words out, only nodded furiously.

 

“Hey Ev,” Michael spoke.

 

“Y-Yeah?” Evan stuttered out.

 

“Which of these Disney movies do you like the most?”

 

“I, uh… I-I like Lilo and Stitch.” He answered, voice only a bit above a whisper.

 

“Yes! I told you, Michael!” Brooke raised her arms triumphantly. “Evan has great tastes in Disney movies!” She turned her giant grin to Evan himself, before raising her hand to offer a high-five, which Evan surprisingly gently returned.

 

Michael rolled his eyes at them while getting up to head over to dvd player. “Alright, alright, Lilo and Stitch it is!”

 

Everyone got comfy around Evan’s living room, even making sure Evan had his own spot not too crowded by his house guests. Any awkward air still in the room dissipated into nothing as the movie – and the wait for pizza – began.


	6. 6

“Is he…?”

 

“… half-way… we didn’t…”

 

“Thank… hasn’t been sleeping well… -ciate it…”

 

“No pr-…”

 

\---

 

Evan woke up dazed and confused. Why was he sleeping on the couch? He wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but how had he ended up here? It’s not like he regularly took couch naps – something about it felt too open, too vulnerable. So, how…?

 

Finally, like a lightbulb being turned on, the events from earlier that night came rushing back to him. Mr. Heere’s kids, the movie, the pizza… the kindness.

 

He couldn’t piece together why, but when he thought about what he imagined Mr. Heere’s kids to be like, he had imagined meaner, less understanding, _fewer_ kids that already seemed to hate him. But the kids he’d met tonight had been the complete opposite of that. They ordered the pizza for him, gave him his personal space, didn’t demand anything from him, and even gave him the option to not partake. It was… nice.

 

However, remembering still left a few questions unanswered. Why had he fallen asleep half-way through one of his favorites? Who had covered him up? How long had he been asleep?

 

Evan sat up more and stretched his arms, looking around the room. Everyone was gone and all the lights had been turned out to make it dark, save for some light pouring in from the kitchen area and the time glowing on the cable box – 2:30 AM. He stood slowly, wrapping the blanket around himself as he did so, and waddled towards the light to check it out.

 

“Hey sleepy head. Do you feel a bit more refreshed?”

 

Evan looked her over before answering. She looked tired herself – which would make sense, it was pretty late – and had a small notebook she was writing in and a small cup of coffee next to it. He decided to waddle over to a seat and join her in these late-night escapades.

 

“I w-wasn’t even that t-tired.” He mumbled to her.

 

“You sure? Because it seemed like you’ve been missing out on sleep recently.” She chided him, watching him with a concerned smile. Evan could brush past the concerned part, though. She was always concerned.

 

“H-How’d y-your date go?” He changed the subject, watching her sigh and look back down to the notebook, fidgeting with the pen in her fingers.

 

“It went well, surprisingly.” She admitted to him. “Not that I didn’t think it would, it’s just… well, guys always _seem_ nice at first.”

 

“But h-he _stayed_ nice?” Evan asked her.

 

“He did.” She smiled at him, a grin that showed her teeth in a real way. “How about your night? Were his kids nice?”

 

Evan let himself chuckle, the small fog of fatigue clouding over a bit of his anxious habits. “Th-They were _m-many_.” He and his mother giggled. “But… yeah. J-Jake o-ordered the p-pizza, Rich g-got it a-at the door, we w-watched a movie I picked…”

 

“You picked it?” Heidi questioned, her eyebrows raised but her smile growing.

 

“W-Well,” Evan blushed at her attention, “T-They a-asked me t-to pick b-between two d-different m-movies.” He chuckled out a nervous breath.

 

“Ah, I see. When did they sign your cast?” She asked, taking a sip of her coffee with one hand and pointing to the cast with her other.

 

“M-My…?” Evan moved his arm to get a better look at it, and saw where they had indeed, all eight of them, signed his cast. “I… I-I don’t r-remember. I-It m-must have b-been a-after I fell asleep.” His eyebrow quirked as he continued to look it over, each signature standing out to him. A small part of him immediately worried about why they had done this without asking him, but it was cancelled out by the rest of him, which just felt… warm.

 

“Well, it looks like you’ve made some new friend, Ev.” His mother’s voice told him as he continued to look it over.

 

Evan dared to let the small smile form on his lips, careful to not let himself feel this new feeling too much, but still feeling it nonetheless.

 

“Yeah. F-Friends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone still interested in this? Is it worth finishing?


End file.
